There are existing methods of prioritizing telephone calls. For example, the name or telephone number of the caller party can be displayed on the recipient's telephone, a telephone can be provided with a function that blocks all incoming telephone calls on demand or telephone calls can be forwarded to an automated message center.
There also are existing methods of rerouting telephone calls. For example, call forwarding or automated answering systems that allow callers to reroute their telephone calls.
The existing methods of prioritizing and rerouting of telephone calls have several disadvantages. One distinct disadvantage with respect to prioritizing of telephone calls is that the caller does not have any control over the prioritizing of his telephone calls. Similarly, with respect to rerouting of telephone calls, the caller does not have any control over whether his call will be rerouted.
Existing methods of prioritizing and rerouting of telephone calls also have disadvantages from the recipient's perspective. For example, because the recipient does not know the nature of the call before answering, the recipient cannot prioritize or reroute calls based upon the nature of the call.
The deficiencies in the existing methods of prioritizing and rerouting of telephone calls is made readily apparent in telemarketing. Telemarketing is the use of telecommunication services to market and sell products and services and to provide customers with product and service information.
Often times, telemarketing agents expend time and effort calling potential customers only to be greeted by anger and irritation. Many people consider calls to their home during nonworking hours by nameless, faceless telemarketing agents to be an unwanted intrusion. In particular, potential customers often express anger and irritation when telemarketing agents call during dinner hour.
Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus that allows the caller to designate the priority of a telephone call based on specified priority criteria and the recipient to designate treatment of telephone calls based on their specified priority criteria.